Plans for content creation and repurposing

If we haven’t chatted since Christmas, you won’t know that I’m super pregnant. (I found out VERY late. It’s a long story that I’m happy to share 1:1.)

And by super pregnant, I mean that I was just hoping to be able to work full-force through the end of this month and the rest of the coming weeks and months are a total unknown. (There’s even a chance that baby boy has already come by the time you’re reading this. 🙃)

And you heard it here first, but I officially talk about it (sort of as an Easter egg) in next week’s podcast episode within the context of staying consistent amidst change…something that hopefully all of us can relate to, even if we’re not bursting at the seams with a baby.

So, what does this little (read: world-rocking for me) announcement mean?

I’m feeling very large, not very in charge, and very curious to see how this next phase of life and business plays out.

But also, I’ve put in lots of pre-work to make this behind-the-scenes transition as smooth for myself—and especially for YOU—as possible.

I’ve called it Project Push. (Yes, the pun was very much intended.)

Over the past 2 months or so, I’ve been content planning, creating, repurposing, batching. All the -ings. So that my online presence doesn’t miss a beat.

Because while “marketing” could easily be a full-time job (or 10) and comes with no guarantees of return, I’m committed to consistently showing up to the best of my ability, for my sake and for the sake of all the relationships I’ve built over these past 5+ years. Content and marketing and thought leadership are part of a long-game that I don’t want to lose momentum on.

(Momentum is HUGE for how my business brain works and the way my offers spark confident, meaningful action with clients. More thoughts on the topic here.)

So, I mapped out how many days I had left until the end of April (my hopefully-safe-to-bank-on-date) and factored in how much content I could feasibly create for the newsletter, the podcast, and social media in that time.

And I put each deliverable in my Notion planning system on a specific day, taking into account commitments and meetings I already had in place. (And countless, COUNTLESS dr visits. 😩) While even sort of baking in space for unexpected opportunities (yay for Alignment Calls or client work coming through!), illnesses (those daycare germs, amiright?), etc.

What I noticed was that even having a plan made me so much more motivated to START and KEEP creating. And to get even further ahead. Because I don’t do well with nebulous and daunting. When I know “something needs to be done” but the “how” is unclear, I really struggle. But I do great with “here are the 3 things that need get done this week…bet I could do 5.”

A few caveats:

1️⃣ There’s a chance I might miss a week of the newsletter. (Gasp! Will the world end?!) But there’s a better chance I won’t. 😉

This is my best connection and relationship medium I have in my business, my favorite creative outlet, and the biggest driver of sales. So it’s important to me.

Starting next week, I’m also switching up the format a bit. (You might not have even noticed, but let me give you a peek behind the curtain.) Generally, I do 1 week with a long-form reflection/how-tos/rants (like this one), then the next week I share curated resources, shoutouts, my latest podcast episode, etc.

For the next few months, I’m focusing 1 week on the latest podcast episode that dropped, then pulling from my content vault to reshare or reimagine something I’ve written in the past.

And you might be thinking…can she do that? Yes, she can. And you can too.

Think about it: most of my subscribers are new-ish. And even if you’ve been around a while, you might have missed my piece the first time around. Or just skimmed it. Or it simply hit different the first time because you were in a different place in your brain and body and business.

So I’m stretching my “greatest hits” (or at least some ideas that resonate with where I am now), sometimes with updates, sometimes as they were shared originally.

2️⃣ I have my podcast content (including interviews!) planned, recorded, and in production behind the scenes with The Eco Helper through October. 😲 I find the podcast to be fun to create and energizing to see how it builds upon itself. And I don’t have a huge listenership, but I get great feedback and want to do my guests justice for sharing their time and expertise and vulnerable experiences.

And I’ve been aiming to make the episodes more of an engine for my business—focusing some of my upcoming episodes on my frameworks, my thought leadership, and case studies and collaborations that showcase why it’s so awesome to co-create a values-aligned messaging strategy and business with me. (More ideas on this pivot here!)

3️⃣ Per the advice of the ever-wise Ashley Kang, I actually made a big shift in my social media content a few months ago to ONLY post based on my hero podcast content, rather than other topics I care and know about.

My social posts weren’t “converting” (into leads or sales, especially from strangers/random followers), so I doubled down on all the time and energy and money I was pouring into the podcast.

I’m not sure what my relationship with social media will look like moving forward (more on that soon!) because I don’t particularly enjoy creating all the posts and I do outsource elements of it (graphics, scheduling) with very little return. My favorite part of being on social is just catching peers and clients in organic DMs anyway, very ad hoc and “un-strategic”.

Basically, with Project Push, I felt better pouring myself into hyper-creation mode than worrying about whether I’d drop the ball over the coming months. And I can always update, shift around, or do whatever else I want if inspiration strikes.

But if you’re someone who feels fulfilled slowing down, taking things in stride, waiting for the muse, whatever YOU need, that’s perfect too.

The point is to show up in a way that feels good. So that you can connect in the most natural, effective, impactful way with the real people you care about on the receiving on.

And YES: I’m still taking on consulting clients and projects. That’s the beauty of the services ecosystem I’ve put in place—it’s able to fit into my lifestyle, even with a growing family to devote so much focus to.

Trust me when I say my brain and enthusiasm are not affected by this pregnancy to keep me from being and doing the most for and with my clients. In fact, when a fellow mom and entrepreneur asked how I keep sane balancing both my business and a toddler, I answered that being able to pour myself into work keeps me grounded, like I’m a full human, not just a mom.

So my ask(s) to you:

1️⃣ Please keep booking free Alignment Calls with me to talk about how we can work together.

My calendar is officially blocked off for a bit. (Yes, a pending newborn will do that…) But book it for a few months from now, or just email or DM me and I’m happy to sneak in a half hour to chat in between feedings and contact naps and diaper changes and all the things.

2️⃣ Keep spreading the word about the podcast, especially if a particular topic, guest, or episode resonates with you.

3️⃣ Keep sending me intros to values-aligned people who could be referral partners, clients, workshop hosts, etc.

4️⃣ Keep chatting with me on social (or hit reply to these newsletters!) so that I know someone is on the other side of the void.

5️⃣ Keep letting me know how I can support YOU—what I can spread the word about, who I can connect you to, etc.

(Copywriter friends, don’t get mad at my multi-faceted CTA…yet again.)

And along the way, happy content creating and repurposing of your own!

Super curious to hear how you approach content creation and/or repurposing in your business—what works, what’s stuck, what you’re experimenting with!

Catch you on the other side of being a mama of 2! (Send help…)

 

 

This is an excerpt from Toward Purpose & Progress, my newsletter where I share business tips, good news, shoutouts to Founder Friends, and other juicy snippets. Subscribe here for more rants, reflections, and resources.